Category: Art

René Magritte Revealed: Famed surrealist’s artworks coming to ArtisTree

René Magritte and The Barbarian
Rare photos and films by René Magritte coming soon to HK

Belgian artist René Magritte was a giant in the 20th century art scene, known for witty, abstract and thought-provoking surrealist works such as The Son of Man and The Human Condition. Soon, Hong Kong art lovers will be treated to an intimate look at his creative process, and the influence of films and photography in his works thanks to an upcoming exhibition at Swire Properties’ ArtisTree.

Titled René Magritte: The Revealing Image – Photos and Films, this unique showcase features 132 original photographs and films created by Magritte that have never been seen in Asia or Europe before. Taken from two private collections – the Margritte Foundation and the Museum of Photography Charleroi – each item on display will give visitors a glimpse into the personal life of Magritte, his friends and his family.

René Magritte painting La Clarvoyance, 1936

Ahead of the event, Chief Curator Xavier Canonne shared, “This is a very important exhibition as it offers audiences around the world an intimate look at one of the most popular and influential surrealist artists of the 20th century.”

Exhibition: René Magritte: The Revealing Image – Photos and Films
Date: 19 January to 19 February 2018
Admission: Free
Location: ArtisTree, 1/F Cambridge House, Taikoo Place, 979 King’s Road, Quarry Bay

Images: Collection Charly Herscovici, Brachot Gallery

 

French artist Invader attacks Harbour City with street art for a good cause

Have you noticed some quirky mosaic artwork on the walls of Harbour City recently? If you are wondering who’s behind this, we’re here to unravel the mystery!

Iconic French street artist Invader has hit Hong Kong with a new series of 32 impressive artworks. He recently invaded Harbour City installing 18 of his art pieces on prominent locations around the mall. His signature piece Space Invader is one of the most eye-catching installations. Other pieces like Anchor, Mermaid and Emojis match the theme of Harbour City.

What makes this collaboration so unique is that this is the first time that the iconoclastic artist is pairing up with a shopping mall for a charity fundraiser. For the occasion, he has designed a limited-edition umbrella printed with the same mosaic Anchor pattern that is displayed at the Ocean Terminal Rooftop Carpark.

Harbour City x Invader Limited Edition Umbrella – Charity Redemption Details

Date: 18 December 2017 – 11 February 2018
Time: 12noon – 8pm
Location: Level 3, Ocean Centre, Harbour City (near OC312, Leonidas)

Participation Method:

  1. Upload three photos of Invader’s mosaic artworks in Hong Kong or elsewhere on personal Facebook or Instagram account; hashtag #harbourcity & #hcart; and @harbourcity (at least one of the photos must be a self-portrait taken with the mosaic artwork at Harbour City)
  2. Present the related post and personal ID proof for verification, with simple registration and onsite donation of HK$200 to “Hong Kong Blood Cancer Foundation” to redeem one umbrella.

*Each person can redeem one umbrella throughout the whole redemption period only. Quota applies on a first-come-first-served basis while stock lasts.

More details on http://www.harbourcity.com.hk.

Sotheby’s first-ever street art sale in Hong Kong proves street art is here to stay

Street art is, by its very nature, a transient form of art, subject to the wear and tear of urban life. But with more street artists getting international acclaim, street art is finally making the crossover from the ‘unsanctioned’ territory to the legitimate blue-chip world of art galleries.

Sotheby’s first dedicated street art sale in Hong Kong titled, ‘Take It To The Street’, is one such step in that direction. Featuring 32 works donated by renowned international artists including Invader, Vhils, Shepard Fairey and José Parlá, the auction showcased a wide range of style and media. Be it broken window panes or crushed beer cans, the most unexpected of mediums were transformed to sheer visual delights.

But with street art being elevated to the so-called higher realms of fine art, is it losing its central ethos as a counter-culture movement? Jasmine Chen, Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Specialist, says, “As a fine art category, street art is quite new, as traditionally street artists would stay away from normative places like art galleries and museums. But with a blurring of lines around what art means, it is easier for street artists to come into the fold of fine art without losing their identity. It is for this very reason that the market for street art has exploded recently.”

Indeed, if Sotheby’s ‘Take It To The Street’ sale is anything to go by, art collectors seem genuinely invested, with 100% of the lots being sold. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to Hong Kong Contemporary Art Foundation to support future exhibitions and events.

Text: Suchetana Mukhopadhyay

Cha-Qing! Chinese antique shatters Sotheby’s auction record

Sotheby’s recently held its Important Chinese Art auction: a marquee event that assembled rare porcelain alongside artworks from the Ming and Qing dynasties. Sales totalled over HK$333 million, and amidst these impressive results there were some truly awe-inspiring highlights.

Case in point: a rare brush washer dating from the Northern Song dynasty and a “ram’s head” teapot crafted from white jade featuring a cloisonné enamel handle. The sale of the latter exceeded experts’ wildest expectations, netting an impressive HK$75.5 million – a world record for the most expensive jade carving to be acquired at auction. Sourced from a private collection, this ceramic is a fine example of classical jade art during the Qianlong Emperor’s reign.

Made from a singular block of white jade, the teapot’s body is shaped into 12 evenly-spaced petal lobes. The titular “ram’s head” carving forms part of the spout and is finely detailed, with each of the creature’s features individually articulated. “It is a fine example of Qianlong period imperial jades,” says Xu Lin, a Sotheby’s cataloguer. That this piece was once owned by debonair American socialite Millicent Rogers – reportedly a confidant of Madame Chiang Kai-shek – is merely the icing on the cake.

Images: Sotheby’s

Leisure and Pleasure: Events in Hong Kong this December

The most festive month of the year is here and, as usual, Hong Kong is just buzzing with a multitude of events and activities to keep you engaged almost every day of the week. From car racing events to Christmas musicals, there’s something for everyone and every budget. We have our heart set on the events listed here.

Hong Kong E-Prix

Street racing becomes a reality in Hong Kong with the 2017 HKT E-Prix. As prelude to the Formula E season, the event will see electric single-seat race cars jockey for pole position around a track at Central’s iconic Harbourfront. The city will be the first in Asia to host a unique “double-header” featuring two separate and distinct races.

2 – 3 December
Central Harbourfront Event Space
HK$1,190-$2,880
www.hkformulae.com

Detour

Coinciding with Hong Kong’s Business of Design Week, the deTour creative festival returns to the PMQ this month. The annual cultural event brings together a bevy of artists and designers for this year’s theme of Harmonious Chaos. Installations and interactive pieces from more than 20 different designers – all handpicked for the festival – will be on show. Be sure not to miss Confluence – a towering 14m light wall from local design collective Bloom.

1 – 10 December
PMQ
35 Aberdeen Street, Central
Free entry
www.detour.hk

Shawn Mendes

Canadian pop idol Shawn Mendes brings his globetrotting Illuminate tour to Hong Kong this month. The 19-year-old singer-songwriter will perform his chart-toppers, including hits Stitches and Mercy, at Lantau’s AsiaWorld-Expo. With his likable persona and washboard abs, Mendes is sure to prove a hit with teenyboppers across Hong Kong – scoop up tickets for your kids while they last!

13 December
Hall 10, AsiaWorld-Expo
Lantau Island
8pm
HK$680
www.hkticketing.com

Creamfields

The UK’s largest electronic music festival, Creamfields, returns to Hong Kong this month to celebrate its 20th anniversary. AsiaWorld- Expo will play host to some of the biggest names in the scene, including Above & Beyond, Galantis, Tiësto and Flume. Single-day and weekend passes are currently available.

15 – 16 December
AsiaWorld-Expo
Lantau Island
HK$888-$3,000
www.creamfields.hk

The Nutcracker

The Hong Kong Ballet will kick off the holiday season with a fresh take on The Nutcracker. The world-famous ballet tells the story of young siblings Clara and Fritz Stahlbaum, who dream of a magical Christmas tree and a nutcracker prince. The two embark on an unforgettable adventure to help the heroic Nutcracker defeat the evil Rat King. Featuring a live performance of Tchaikovsky’s iconic score by the Hong Kong Sinfonietta and choreography by Terence Kohler, The Nutcracker carries on the time-honoured Christmas tradition.

15 – 26 December
Grand Theatre, Hong Kong
Cultural Centre, Tsim Sha Tsui
HK$180-$1,000
www.hkballet.com

Heart-to-Heart Yoga

It’s not every day that one gets to downward dog with the world’s oldest practitioner of yoga: 99-year-old Tao Porchon-Lynch. An early adoptee of yoga at the age of eight, Tao led a colourful life as a resistance fighter during WWII and also studied under an occultist. In an immersive two-hour “on-the-mat” experience, participants will have the opportunity to learn the four pillars of yoga while discovering Tao’s secrets to healthy living. Namaste!

19 – 21 December
PURE Yoga
Pacific Place, Admiralty
7pm
HK$700-$1,688
www.pure-yoga.com

Scrooge! – The Musical

The Chan Dang Social Services Foundation is reviving the popular Broadway musical Scrooge! just in time for Christmas. Say “bah humbug!” to the holiday blues with this critically acclaimed Broadway show, adapted from the classic Charles Dickens novella, A Christmas Carol. Currently undergoing its second revival, the production is set to take centre stage at the Lyric Theatre, Hong Kong’s premier performing arts venue. The winner of three Hong Kong Drama Awards, Scrooge! is the perfect activity for families looking to ring in – and sing in – the festive season.

19 – 26 December
The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts
Lyric Theatre
1, Gloucester Road, Wan Chai
From 7:45pm onwards
HK$85-$350
www.hkticketing.com

The World of Tintin

Budding illustrators and cartoon enthusiasts are in for a treat with the arrival of The World of Tintin exhibition at Quarry Bay. This unique collaboration between the HOCA Foundation and Musee Hergé is the largest ever showcase of Tintin artworks in Hong Kong. Three dioramic artworks have been specially created for the exhibition, modelled on scenes from the Tintin series. The scale of the exhibition is immense, with three pop-up shops around Hong Kong (ArtisTree, City Plaza and Central) presenting a variety of Tintin memorabilia.

Now till 26 December
ArtisTree
Level 1, Cambridge House, Quarry Bay
Free entry
www.hoca.org

Our favourite DIY activities for your child this holiday season

With winter holidays coming up, it’s again time for parents to put on their thinking caps and come up with new ideas to keep their kids entertained. While Christmas provides plenty of distractions outdoors, what do you do when the trips to Disneyland and Ocean Park are over, and all the Christmas gifts have been unwrapped? Instead of turning to iPads and Playstations, why not try these simple and creative ideas!

Stamped Shirt

All you need is a clean white shirt, some cut veggies, colourful non-toxic paints and an artistic streak. Encourage your child to experiment with geometric shapes using okra, bell peppers, potatoes, lemons and whatnots. Try a pastel palette for a flowery shirt!

Stardust Garden

Bring out the budding gardener in your child by encouraging them to plant mini-gardens in a small flower pot. Jazz up the pots with colourful paints and sprinkle glitter. It’s a good way to teach your child about environment conservation through a hands-on method.

Race Course

Use colourful tapes and create a customisable racing track for your kids’ toy cars. Make sure to use an easily-removable brand to avoid leaving some unsightly marks on the floor.

Little People

Give your child some simple flour dough and let them create mini figurines of people or animals or whatever else they like. It is one of the most uncomplicated ways of keeping your kid busy and the best part is that they won’t hurt themselves on rough edges while playing with dough.

Foamy Art

You’ll need some shaving cream, glue and food colour for this one. Mix everything together in a sealed bag and cut off a little corner at the bottom to use like a piping bag. The foam solidifies overnight to become super-cool, colourful, puffed-up masterpieces.

Christmas Cookies

Buy a batch of cookies from the bakery of your choice. Create your own icing by mixing icing sugar, a couple drops of vanilla extract and water. Separate into separate batches and add different food colours. Stuff into a sealed bag and cut off the corner, and get your kids piping their favourite festive designs. Voila, home-made Christmas cookies!

Text: Suchetana Mukhopadhyay and Tenzing Thondup

 

All in Blue: Tim Barber’s Blues photography debuts at agnès b Galerie Boutique

New York-based Tim Barber’s photography quite literally puts the ‘blue’ in ‘blueprint’ with his new solo exhibition. On display at the agnès b Galerie Boutique in Tsim Sha Tsui, Barber’s impressive collection merges the old school cyanotype printing technique – invented in the mid 19th century – with modern digital photography that ultimately produce images with an ethereal, almost otherworldly appeal.

The exhibition is part of French fashion label agnès b’s efforts to showcase the cohesive relationship between fashion and art, and to spotlight burgeoning talents from around the globe.

Drop by the agnès b Galerie Boutique at the K11 Art Mall from now until 6 January 2018 to see Barber’s cyan-toned “Blues” exhibition. Limited edition Artiste Tees and Barber’s photo book are also up for grabs.

Paradise Regained: Jaquet Droz’s new watch creates a mini Garden of Eden

Known for its elaborate decorative watches, Jaquet Droz has once again stunned the world of horology with its latest model, The Tropical Bird Repeater watch.

Inspired by Gauguin’s Post-Impressionist paintings, the watch depicts, on its dial, an exotic landscape, a Garden of Eden-like terrain, with each detail of flora and fauna depicted painstakingly.

At the heart of this Garden of Eden, amidst a realistic waterfall, is a hummingbird hand-carved and hand-engraved with meticulous craftsmanship by the maison’s top artists. A one-of-a-kind animation in watch-making history, its wings beat up to forty times a second, making it a piece of moving art. All other details, including a peacock, whose plumes open and close, a toucan that emerges at 3 o’clock to open its beak, a flight of dragonflies, whose wings glow in the dark, are equally jaw-dropping.

The timepiece is, however, not just a great looker; it’s high on performance as well. With features like the minute repeater powered by Jaquet Droz RMA89 movement and a power reserve of 60 hours with an oscillating frequency of 3 Hz, the watch is a collectible on all counts.

Limited to just eight pieces, this is one paradise a true connoisseur can’t afford to lose!

Maverick misfit: Wing Shya on the art of being ‘wrong’

Wing Shya, a name that needs no introduction. We caught up with the maverick film and fashion photographer before the launch of his limited-edition photography books and an exhibition at Shanghai Centre of Photography on 7 November. From being an ideal ‘misfit’ to his idiosyncratic interpretation of Hong Kong, Wing touched on all things close to his heart.

What inspired you to become a photographer?

I had no plans of becoming a photographer. I chanced to do a photography project for some schoolmates, which they really liked and came back with more work. As I got more involved with photography, I realised that I really enjoyed shooting.

How has your education in the West influenced your work?

I found the cultures in Asia and the West to be radically different. While in Asia, we are inclined to be more conservative, in Canada, where I studied, I found out that we had freedom to try out everything. There was nobody to say ‘no’. That kind of creative freedom helped open my mind and expand my artistic horizons.

How was the experience of working with director Wong Kar-wai?

Wong Kar-wai is more like a father figure to me. He takes very good care of his entire crew. His ‘never-give-up’ philosophy of life has inspired me immensely. His genuine love for his work is also something that I have imbibed. I can easily say that Wong Kar-wai and his whole team have changed my life.

How do you balance the world of fine art with film and fashion?

I don’t believe in such strict labels. I treat them all equally as just work. I strive to blend the boundaries between fine art, fashion, photography, film, etc. I sometimes incorporate a ‘movie’ style of shooting to fashion shoots. I want to mix all the genres to have more fun and be more creative.

How do you satiate your own creative instincts while doing commercial work?

When I was young, I used to be selfish. I would push my clients to agree to my vision. But with age, I have become more understanding of my clients’ needs. We have an ongoing dialogue to understand their expectations better. We take into account market surveys. At the end of the day, I want them to earn more money as well. Through collaboration, we strike the right balance.

Hong Kong comes alive as a character in your work. How does the city inspire you?

I perceive a strange dichotomy in Hong Kong. While it’s such a busy city with so much noise, the individuals themselves are like islands of isolation in the midst of the busy, pushing, shoving crowds. I like making my photos super-noisy with bursts of colours, high saturation and sharp contrast. I want to capture the noise and the chaos of Hong Kong. But at the same time, I want to capture the loneliness of the people in the midst of the noisy milieu. I see Hong Kong’s women with such pretty faces and beautiful dresses, but their faces reveal their isolation. So through the blank stares of my models, I want to capture that ethos of loneliness. That’s my interpretation of Hong Kong.

How much importance do you lay on technique while shooting?

 I think the soul of the photo is more important. I have very limited idea about technique. I like using so-called ‘wrong’ techniques. I love being wrong. I love being a misfit. There are too many people using the ‘right’ techniques, I prefer to be wrong.

What is your advice to aspiring photographers?

My only advice is, don’t listen to my advice or anyone else’s advice. Just listen to your own heart and follow your own direction.

Exhibition details:

7 November 2017 – 14 January 2018
10.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. (open on all national holidays)
Shanghai Centre of Photography
2555-1 Long Teng Avenue, Xuhui District, Shanghai, China
Books are available for pre-order ($2,388 until 7 November)
http://www.forwardassembly.com/projects#/wing-shya-photography-book/

Text: Suchetana Mukhopadhyay

Tip of the iceberg: There’s more to Scandinavia than the Aurora Borealis

 

Fancy sledding in the Arctic Circle on reindeer sledges? Or listening to a private concert in a grotto in Iceland? Or maybe snowmobiling through frozen lakes in Sweden?

If you are all geared up for a Scandinavian adventure this winter, look no further! Award-winning luxury travel company, Jacada Travel, has just introduced its Northern European travel experiences, designed to transport you to the fairy-tale land of Frozen with lots of chilling adventures in tow.

And if winter’s not your thing, fret not, because each season in Scandinavia is unique and brings its own set of attractions. While in autumn, the nature blooms to its brightest colours before a barren winter, in spring-summer, there’s a chance of spotting bears that have just come out of hibernation.

To give us a sneak peek into what’s in store in a Scandinavian vacation, Jacada Travel is currently hosting an exhibition ‘In Search of Light’ by British photographer and explorer, George Turner, who has captured the beauty of lesser-known terrains of Norway, Finland, Scotland and Iceland through his lenses.

Exhibition details:
The Haven by Jacada Travel
29/F Wyndham Place, 40-44 Wyndham Street, Central
21 October to 9 December 2017
From 10am to 8pm (7pm on Mondays)
Free for public

Text: Suchetana Mukhopadhyay